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Union Minister of Road Transport & Highways Nitin Jairam Gadkari on Friday appealed to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin to intervene and review all road projects in the State and to ensure better co-operation between his Ministry and the State.
“We are facing major problems in Tamil Nadu. Our work has stopped. Through this programme, I request the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister to review all the road projects and cooperate with us,” the Minister said in his special address at the BusinessLine Countdown to Budget 2022.
Road development projects (National Highways) in Tamil Nadu has hit a roadblock due to problems like sourcing aggregate material and forest clearances, he added.
“There is no money shortage. We are ready to give ₹1,000 crore to Tamil Nadu and develop all types of road projects. I don’t have any problem,” the Minister added.
The Minister, responding to a question on the lack of major road projects in the South, said, “In Tamil Nadu, we are not getting different types of aggregates for construction. They are giving us permission for three months, and another three months. In a bureaucratic system, this never works. That’s why the work has stopped. We have already requested the Chief Minister and Chief Secretary to sort out the issues. If the cooperation is good from the State’s side, I am assuring that I will give a lot of priority to the development of road infrastructure in Tamil Nadu.”
‘More projects in Kerala’
In Kerala, there are problems with regard to land acquisition. However, the Kerala Chief Minister is very proactive, taking a lot of decisions and helping the NHAI.
“We are now giving a lot of projects to Kerala. In Karnataka also, we are doing a lot of projects. In Andhra Pradesh and Telengana, we have sanctioned many projects, including the Hyderabad-Chennai highway. In South India, there are a lot of projects,” said Gadkari.
He added that he was keen on working with the Tamil Nadu government and recalled the work that was done earlier.
“When I was the Shipping Minister, I developed the ports in Tuticorin and Chennai. We were working on the Chennai Port-Maduravoyal elevated corridor project to resolve the traffic jam problem in Chennai. We are ready for that but we need cooperation from the State government,” the Minister said.
He added, “Without that, we cannot do it. When the Central government is ready to fund the road development and road projects, let us resolve the small issues and we can see 100 per cent change in the total infrastructure of Tamil Nadu, which is the fastest-growing State in the country. Lots of industrial development is there, exports will increase and create more employment potential. I am very much positive and support it.”.
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